The Astros move on
Since the 2019 off-season, the Astros have lost a core player every year, so change is not new for Houston; however, this off-season is different. The Astros are coming off a season where they did not win a playoff series and are losing several key pieces. Although we expect the team to be competitive this year, the 2025 team will have a different feel than the 2017 to 2024 teams. I look forward to this new era, but it is nice to reminisce over the glory days. Here is a farewell to Breggy!
By the numbers:
During Bregman’s tenure with the Astros, he produced 39.7 fWAR and helped to win 59 playoff games. His peak was in 2018 and 2019 when he hit a combined 72 home runs and was one of the best players in the league. Although he never returned to those heights, his 2022, 2023, and 2024 seasons were still very good. At this point, I doubt that he will sustain the success necessary to make it to the Hall of Fame, but there is no doubt that he is one of the better 3rd basemen of his generation.
Clutch City:
Although the postseason dominance of Altuve often overshadows him, he was still a monster in October. In 99 games, Bregman hit 19 homers and had an OPS just shy of .800. This is impressive, considering that over half of these games were played in the ALCS and World Series. Although I would love to come up with a list of his greatest postseason moments, there were too many to count.
Closing it out:
There is no doubt that Bregman is one of the all-time Astro greats. The Astros were a bit underhanded with Brady Aitken, the 2014 first-overall pick, but by playing hardball with him, the Astros got the 2nd overall pick in the 2015 draft, which turned into Alex Bregman. The rest is history.
I wish the Astros had offered a similar deal to Bregman as the Red Sox ultimately signed him to. Given the delta in state income tax between TX and MA, they probably could have gotten him for a bit less, but Crane apparently thought 3 years, $120 million, was not worth it. If the Red Sox had signed him to a long-term deal, I could see why Crane would balk at making him a competitive offer, but for a player who is only 30 years old and has been consistently worth over four wins a year, I think Crane was being cheap.
Regardless of how it ended, Alex Bregman’s time in Houston was legendary and will be missed. Good luck in Boston!
What do you all think? comment below!